DR. ALI AL-GHAMDI



Bangladesh observed on August 15, the 38th anniversary of the military coup in which Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of the Nation, and most of his family members were assassinated. On 15 August 1975, a group of disgruntled army personnel attacked the house of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and shot him and all other members of the family to death except his two daughters — Sheikh Hasina, now prime minister, and Sheikh Rehana. They escaped the bloodbath as they were abroad on that black day.



Sheikh Hasina, who heads the incumbent government, presided over a ceremony to pay homage to her slain father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman when the anniversary of the painful incident was observed as National Mourning Day on August 15. The ceremony was held at a large garden in Dhaka that carries the name of Suhrawardi, a towering Bengali political figure.



Addressing the gathering, Sheikh Hasina delivered a lengthy speech, a large portion of which she used to lash out at her arch political rival – Begum Khaleda Zia, leader of the opposition and former prime minister. Sheikh Hasina’s speech not only targeted the political activities of Begum Khaleda but  included a personal attack as well. She said that everything in Khaleda from her head to her toes is fake and her ridicule did not even spare Khaleda’s hair. It seems that Sheikh Hasina was responding to similar verbal attacks by Khaleda against her.



In her speech, Sheikh Hasina accused Begum Khaleda of working to protect war criminals. With this accusation, Sheikh Hasina pointed to her political opponents whom she has put behind bars charged with crimes against humanity that they allegedly committed during the civil war between the two sides of United Pakistan that ended in the defeat of the Pakistan Army and the creation of the new state of Bangladesh under the leadership of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.



Sheikh Mujibur Rahman established a war crimes tribunal to try some Pakistani army officials for their involvement in war crimes. He also issued a decree to try those Bangladeshis who collaborated with the Pakistan Army and accordingly thousands of people were detained. (None of these people were included among those who are now under trial at the reconstituted war crimes tribunal.) However, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman later issued a general amnesty by which all of those suspected of having committed war crimes were pardoned. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman realized that if he put any of these detainees on trial, he would also have to try members of the militia associated with his Awami League party for their involvement in war crimes.



Members of the militia were accused of committing war crimes against those committed to the unity of Pakistan. These people included Bengalis as well as Biharis who have led a miserable life in their tents ever since the foundation of Bangladesh more than 40 years ago. As far as Biharis are concerned, Pakistan did nothing worth mentioning to repatriate them nor did  Bangladesh do anything to integrate them into  Bangladeshi society despite their presence in the country even before the creation of Bangladesh. These people still hold fast to their Pakistani identity and the Urdu language, and perhaps this serves as a major obstacle to their integration into Bangladeshi society.



The approach of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to these people was one of reconciliation and as a result, he announced a general amnesty so as to close the old chapter and look forward to a brighter future. Therefore, the attempts of the incumbent government, headed by Sheikh Hasina, to reinstate the war crimes tribunal and imprison a number of political leaders, who were neither accused of war crimes nor held for such crimes during the past 40 years, were considered to be despicable and contemptible acts by prominent international figures and leading human rights organizations.



Their opposition to Dhaka’s move became stronger after the unearthing of several scandals that eroded the credibility of the war crimes tribunal, especially the Skype scandal exposed by the British magazine The Economist.



The scandal eventually led to the resignation of the tribunal’s presiding judge. There was another scandal concerning the kidnapping of a defense witness by secret police agents near the door of the court. His whereabouts were unknown for several months until reports arrived that he is now in a prison in Kolkata, India.



It would have been appropriate if the observance of the anniversary of the death of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had been used to commemorate the remarkable achievements of Bangabandhu and his untiring struggle for the creation of Bangladesh. It would also have been highly commendable if Sheikh Hasina had used the occasion to renew the general amnesty issued by her father and had released all of those war crimes suspects who have been put behind bars unjustly 40 years after the creation of Bangladesh. By such an act, she could have proved that her father was right when he closed the chapter of the past and looked forward to the future with his declaration of a general amnesty and with the famous saying: “Let the world know how Bengalis can forgive.”



It was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who realized that a policy of settling scores and putting political rivals behind bars would not bring any benefit either to him or to his country. It would also have been commendable if Sheikh Hasina had made a speech focusing on reconciliation with the opposition and its leader Begum Khaleda and setting the ground for solving outstanding issues like their differences on the caretaker government system. This system was incorporated in the country’s constitution following a demand from Sheikh Hasina and her party. However, she annulled it when she won the last elections. The opposition is now insisting that it will boycott elections if the government fails to agree to its demand to hold the elections under a caretaker government.

 

As elections are around the corner, the two women leaders, who exercise control over the fate of the country and its people, should avoid attacking each other personally and should sit together to solve the problems between the two parties in a way benefiting the people and helping the country to achieve more growth and development. 



— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com